The Stuff of Dreams
by Late Night Fairy
Summary: My first ever fanfic. Still learning, go easy please. A murder mystery, disguised perp, & sinister plot frame this story of Sabrina meeting a mysterious, wonderful new boy & learning about herself & her life. T for violence & emo-ness. Sabreus. Puphne.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this was sort of started before I read the latest book, so the only similarities between that and this is that they got their baby brother back and found out about Mirror, who is now off somewhere (I don't know where). Enjoy!**

Sabrina rubbed the knife's handle, remembering his words: "You have no escape. Save one."

This knife was unique, crafted for a purpose. It caused no pain with its single lethal cut. It left the body in blissful sensations in the brief moments before death. What a morbid purpose. It was a suicide knife.

Feeling it between her fingers, Sabrina could swear she felt warmth and comfort radiating from it. A wintery warmth and a dark comfort. But that was more than she ever got these days.

Someone knocked at her door. Sabrina tore open her nightstand drawer, thrust the knife in, and shut it. Granny Relda came in.

"Hi, liebling. How are you doing?"

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Sabrina shrugged. "Fine."

"The basketball still not coming off?"

Sabrina flicked the basketball Puck had super-glued to her head. "Nope." _And don't pretend you care. You didn't do anything to stop it. You didn't do anything about it afterward._

"Well, it's only a matter of time."

"Uh-huh."

"Are you worried about the case?"

"Not really." No, her mind had been preoccupied with something else, someone else in fact. Someone who was either friend or foe. It was so hard to tell. Everything was so, so hard. She held back a bitter grimace.

"Liebling, I don't want you to worry about it, but I need to tell you something now."

"What is it?"

"I think our perpetrator will be coming after you."

A surreal numbness overcame Sabrina, like thick swirls of ice in her skin and bones. It wasn't as sharp or petrifying as it would have been once, but it was strange and she didn't trust it. "Why?"

"Because, to capture her, we had to tell her you were her target."

Sabrina stared. The blackness of betrayal crowded out her shock.

Granny put her hands on Sabrina's shoulders. "You have to act as our bait for now. But it won't be for long, I promise, liebling." She hugged Sabrina. "And we won't let anything happen to you."

Right. Because they hadn't let anything happen to her so many times before, right?


	2. Chapter 2

**One day earlier**

Even exploring an underground Grecian city beneath Ferryport Landing, Sabrina didn't expect the wall to start talking to her.

"Hello, Sabrina," said a stone face in the stone wall.

Sabrina gasped.

The face melted into the wall.

Sabrina swirled around, looking for it. It popped out again in the opposite wall.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you in person," the soft words came from a dreamy-eyed stone face.

It melted away again.

"Who are you?" Sabrina held her metal flashlight like a bat.

"I am me. You are you. See, facts can be fun." This time the voice had no face.

"Who _are_ you?" she repeated angrily. "Come out."

Sabrina spun, watching for him. She faced the first wall she'd seen him in, and out he stepped.

He had pale flesh and was dressed in what looked like a full-body black leotard, which was covered in tiny bursts of light or sparkles that looked like stars. He wore a matching hat that looked like a jester's with two long points, though without bells on the tips. He looked about sixteen, and he had brown hair sticking out of his hat.

"Hello, Sabrina," he said again so gently, smiling so kindly, like this was his favorite dream. "I am Morpheus, God of Dreams."

"Uh-huh. And did you come from your gymnastics meet or a renaissance fair?"

He chuckled.

Then he reached out and tried to put a hand in her long blond hair. She swiped at it with the flashlight, and he recoiled just in time.

"I won't hurt you." He bent down from his 6 foot height to look her in the eyes, putting his hands on his knees. "I will never hurt you."

She backed away, brandishing the flashlight. "That's what all the psychopaths say."

He smiled sadly. "Poor Sabrina. You have had more than your fair share of psychopath encounters."

"How do you know me? What are you doing here?" Sabrina kept the flashlight poised to strike at any second.

"I live here." He straightened up. "You don't think this place would be in such good shape if it was abandoned, do you?"

She had noticed that the walls and floors were clean, and that she could _see_ the walls and the floors. It wasn't pitch black like it should be. She didn't even have to turn on her flashlight. It was as if moonlight radiated from the walls.

"The moon lends me light, and I put it in the walls" Morpheus said, as if he had read her mind. "Being the god of dreams has perks. The moon feels more friendly toward me than most." He smiled. "You like the moon, don't you, Sabrina?"

"There!" she jumped. "That. You know my name. I've never met you, never seen you before. How do you know me?"

"I know you because I've brought you dreams. Almost every night recently."

"You're stalking me!"

"No. Of course not. Don't be silly. I give everyone dreams. Well, usually I send my underlings to use the magic I teach them, but I go myself too. There are just so many sleeping people. I've never played favorites before you, but you are irresistible." He framed a pair of perfect lips around a set of perfect teeth to form a perfect, sweet smile.

When her heart jumped, Sabrina almost wanted to put her weapon down, but she snapped out of it in an instant. She was getting better at that, snapping out of enchanting delusions. "You _are_ stalking me."

"No," he insisted and began circling her.

"Hey!" Sabrina spun on him and pointed her flashlight at him as threateningly as she could.

He stopped, and smiled, just barely, almost sadly. "I always planned to meet you face to face. But whenever I was around, you were asleep."

She rolled her eyes. What a loony. What was he up to?

"Where is your family?" He put his hands on his hips and cocked his head to one side.

"Well, I lost them back – Why do you want to know?"

"I know where they are."

"Then why did you ask?"

"Just making conversation." He shrugged good-naturedly. "Come on. I'll take you to them."

He reached for her hand.

"No. Stay away from me."

He smiled. "Alright. I'll bring them to you."

He pushed a hand toward the wall, and it started melting inward. A new passageway formed.

Sabrina watched warily, barely able to keep herself from bolting.

Finally, at the end of the new passageway, her family appeared, looking confused. Puck zipped up to her.

Great.

Not.

"Where have you been cow-pie brain? We've been looking everywhere for your useless butt. We should just leave you to eat yourself to death by starvation."

Sabrina scowled. Her innards clenched in fury.

Puck looked at Morpheus. "Who's this crud-eater?"

Morpheus smiled, charmingly, socially even, and offered his hand for a handshake. "You must be Puck. But must you, really? It's exceptionably horrible. And I say that as kindly as I can."

Now Puck looked confused. He only glared at Morpheus's hand, and Morpheus took it back, putting it on his hip.

Sabrina couldn't keep a corner of her mouth from curling up. Morpheus winked at her out of the corner of one beautiful brown eye, and her heart raced again. She immediately willed it to slow down.

The rest of the family approached them now.

"Liebling, who's this?" Granny Relda stared curiously at Morpheus.

Sabrina crossed her arms. _Yeah, thanks, I'm fine, despite being lost and possibly dead as far as you knew._

"Morpheus, God of Dreams." Morpheus shook hands with Granny.

"A _god_?" Daphne squealed. "Morpheus? I remember you. Oh, you look so much different than I thought. You're handsome."

"Thank you." He said.

Daphne giggled and bit her palm. That was beginning to seem practiced. Like she did it just for show. She wanted people to keep thinking she was cute as she got older, and Sabrina knew it.

"How did that tunnel form?" asked Uncle Jake.

"He did it." Sabrina thrust her chin out at Morpheus. "He lives here." She'd finally put her flashlight down at her side.

Morpheus turned to Granny. "Yes. Sabrina worried about you. She always does."

"Hey –" Sabrina started. _He didn't know that! How did he know that? He made her sound…paranoid or something. Well, she was, but…_

"Hey, Morph," Uncle Jake said, "we're investigating a murder."

"What kind of murder?" said Morpheus.

"Umm." Uncle Jake looked confused. "A bad one?"

"I see," said Morpheus. "And how may I help you?"

"Well, we were told there's an oracle down here."

"An oracle? Down here? No."

"Yes."

"Oh. Then it's me."


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone stared at Morpheus.

He looked around pleasantly, giving Sabrina an extra big smile. She nearly blushed! She ground her teeth.

"I sometimes divine a thing or two." He put out a hand and leaned against a wall. "What would you like to know?"

"Well." Daphne stepped forward. "We'd like to know who the murderer is."

"Who was murdered?"

"A girl was stabbed." Granny took out a photo and showed it to Morpheus, who leaned forward to look. "She was dressed richly and we found a crown nearby, but we haven't received any reports of missing princesses, so we're not sure exactly who she was."

"Hmm." Morpheus closed his eyes. "Let me see."

Two circles of blue light appeared behind his eyelids. His pupils were glowing. Amazing. Sabrina's mouth fell open, but she snapped it shut. He was just some weirdo.

The circles were moving around, searching. "I see a short, scaly…"

"What?" said Uncle Jake. "A short, scaly what?"

"Hmm." Morpheus knit his eyebrows. "She didn't eliminate her target. It, she…"

"What? What?" Uncle Jake shook his fists like he was cheering for a sports team.

The blue lights faded away. Morpheus sighed and opened his eyes. "That's all. I hope it helps."

Uncle Jake's shoulders sagged, but Granny stepped forward. "Yes, it does. Thank you. Can you tell us anything else?"

"Yes, maybe. I have a vision a day, at most. So if you'd like me to try again," he smiled at Sabrina, "you could come back."

Sabrina bit her lip. They shouldn't come back. Morpheus was…well, he made her – No, no, no. They couldn't come back.

"We'll be back tomorrow night." Granny put the photo back in her purse. "Thank you."

Sabrina let out a barely audible sigh, and glared up at Morpheus.

"You're quite welcome." Morpheus smiled softly at Sabrina as Granny ushered her and the rest of the family toward the newly formed passage the family had come through.

"Would you like me to show you the w –" The wall at Morpheus's back exploded, sending Morpheus flying across the floor. He skidded to the other wall and lay still.

Sabrina shielded her face from flying debris with her arms. She turned her back to the explosion and tried to shield Daphne, who kept trying to see around Sabrina. As the chaos settled, Sabrina saw her family was unharmed and their eyes were glued to the place of the explosion. Morpheus, however, still lay on the floor. She ran to him, knelt, and turned him onto his back. She checked his pulse. He was alive. She glanced back at the hole the explosion had made.

Uncle Jake whipped out a silver wand from his coat, as they all stared at the black opening.

A clawed food stepped onto rubble beneath the wall. It was followed by legs and a torso and arms with skin like volcanic rock, veins of lava running through it. Then came a tail, horns, pointy ears, glowing eyes, even a triton. It was a devil.


End file.
